


Lethean

by GorbazTheDragon



Series: Freljordian [1]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: Adventure, Depression, F/M, Romance, Trust, plot heavy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-03-19 08:31:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13700772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GorbazTheDragon/pseuds/GorbazTheDragon
Summary: In Greek mythology, Lethe was one of the five rivers of the underworld of Hades. Also known as the river of unmindfulness, the Lethe flowed around the cave of Hypnos and through the Underworld, where all those who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness. Lethe was also the name of the Greek spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion, with whom the river was often identified.In Classical Greek, the word lethe literally means "oblivion", "forgetfulness", or "concealment".





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to a very helpful and friendly editor for taking their time to go over this again and giving me the motivation to put more time back into this work.

It was there, in the silvery moonlight of a crystal-clear Ionian night, beneath an ancient, towering willow, that two figures stood. Their bowed silhouettes appearing to face each other, separated by mere inches as the cool breeze stirred their hair.

"I guess we're alone now," one whispered, a light female voice. The other moved no more than a slight nod. At length he leaned forward slowly, being caught in a passing, yet tender embrace before turning slowly away from the tree and out of the courtyard.

* * *

 

_Her death had opened up a huge rift in our souls; the huge space once occupied by my stepmother; Akali's mother. She was the third parent I had lost in my short, miserable life. Why me? Why was I the one to have it happen to, I had seen a mere 13 summers come and go, what am I to do? I'm too young to understand, my depressed mind too small to comprehend._

* * *

 

In the doorway he stood as Akali left, pondering what she had said. ‘You’ll find what life is about’.

_Death? Was that the meaning of life? Everything ended up dead at some point._

He closed the door and paced quietly to the bathroom. The reflection in the mirror seeming to catch him, a frown growing on his face. The young boy, devoid of youth, clouded by his depression, his hatred for himself; hatred for the world he lived on. It was as if a shadow had cast itself over him, its weight dragged down on him, slowing his every movement, slowing the beating of his heart, and gently muting out everything else. There in his left chest it thumped along, unfaltering for the last 13 years, how much longer was it to beat?

Yet, his expression returned to being blank, indifferent; emotions were something he had learned to suppress; he never showed their true extent to anyone. Time slipped by, he had the whole day after all. Darkness consumed him again as his eyes ventured towards the short, black dagger that lay on the counter. Like him, it felt cold as he traced the sharp edge of the metal. It was something he had perfected, being able to touch the blade without it cutting into his skin. Gliding towards the carved handle he traced the intricate lines. The blade had been polished years ago before it was given to him, relieved of its duty as an assassin’s dagger; the dull black coating had been invisible in the hands of any reasonably competent user. Now it reflected his face, he gritted his teeth, scowling at the sight, disgusted.

Slowly he raised it to his chest, the beating of his heart quickening ever so slightly, as if it knew that death hovered mere inches above. Faster it got, thumping its way up his neck as the blade lowered closer and closer, he swallowed the knot in his throat, but just as it touched his skin he fainted, everything had gone black.


	2. An Icy Trial

I found myself in a giant ice field, lined at its distant edges by towering walls of blue-white peaks, in the middle of it I walked on an immense, solid expanse of snow covered ice, across which cut the fuzzy edges of the far-flung shadows cast by the low hanging, amber sun. Ahead of me lie a smaller line of hills, snow-capped, but a sapphire blue peering out from beneath the yellow-tinged white. I felt drawn towards it, an icy gust of wind striking me from behind, I shivered from the chill but quickly found my attention drawn to a fleck that drifted along miles above. It was the unmistakable figure of a blue ice dragon, at such a distance seeming like nothing more than an off-coloured bird, but even then its thundering roar sent a shudder through the land. It picked up speed, descending like a dart towards the ridgeline ahead of me, landing gently after flaring out to the northern end of the line of hills, where it disappeared as quickly as it came. Without thinking I had started to run, that luring feeling drawing stronger, the cool breeze bringing me with it.

It took me a while to cover what the dragon had flown in mere seconds. By the time I had reached the base of the mountains I was exhausted, panting, the cold air burning inside my lungs, sweat chilling my exposed skin. There was no dragon to be seen, disappointed I looked around and found a small, man sized hole in the side of the blue wall. Feeling the need to sate my curiosity, I walked in.

The roof of the tunnel was only an arm's length above me, its width around 3 shoulders wide, the walls projecting an intensely icy hue inside, to the point that even the air seeming to be flooded with the colour. The light seemed to come from outside, the thickness of the ice above mattering little, as it was intense enough to chill me to the bone. Yet the air seemed strangely warm, not stuffy like some caves could be, but a clear cool-warm, like a summer morning on a mountain. However, as I steadily pressed downwards, chilly draughts started to creep up from the depths within, the chilly draughts of Freljordian true ice.

Suddenly the narrow sides of the tunnel gave way to a gigantic cavern, easily several miles across and a good part of a mile high, lit equally bright in the same azure of the tunnel. It was as if the stone had been carved out from underneath the glaciers, a whole mountain removed, only the icy shell remaining. The floor of the cave was rough, like a small mountain range under the ground, the ruts and ridges standing a few metres high. The middle, however, was flat, there was a plateau, a few hundred feet in diameter, and on top of it stood a huge pine tree, its dark green leaves an almost blinding contrast to this entirely blue world.

"Gilion!" An icy voice called out.  _Lissandra!_  I shot back almost immediately, surprising myself to how normal it seemed to find her here, emanating throughout the gallery. "Come to the tree." She commanded, me obeying immediately, starting over the strangely warm ice. In fact, it almost felt like stone to the hands, except it was translucent, bright blue. I had slowed my pace coming down the tunnel, calming my breathing, yet the freezing air still stung slightly as I breathed it in. It took me a while, but once I had reached the plateau I was no more tired than when I had entered the cavern.

I stood for a second and stared at the huge tree, I liked the darkness of the needles, they were the same colour of holly, but in the fashion of a pine, very thin and pointy. The bark was a very deep brown and it looked rough, well textured. My observing was cut short by a rumbling, it subsided before I had the time to pin it down.

"You aren't one to decide your fate," Lissandra said, her icy voice making me shiver. "I hope you regret your decision." She continued. Her voice seemed to come from everywhere, it was like she was the cavern, or the cavern was her. I thought her words over; they cut deep into me, exposed me. I wanted to keep it away from everyone else, but it just delved into me; like my mind was being judged publically. _But what did I do to deserve losing 3 parents, why could it not be justified for me to end my own life?_

"You are weak, fool!" she sneered, her voice slicing like a newly sharpened dagger through my conscience. "You don't deserve such good parents, spoiled brat!" She continued, as tears started to well in my eyes. _Was what she said true?_ It must be, I was spoiled, I had been almost everywhere on the planet, but I never had to fight for my life like so many other children my age. I'd never have survived a few months without parents; I was the weak one out of my generation. I was a mistake.

My thoughts were again interrupted by a distant rumbling; it lasted long enough to clue me towards the ceiling. I looked up, it was coming loose! Time seeming to slow as I almost instantly consolidated myself that there was nothing I could do.  _Oh, shit..._  I thought, sarcastically, but I slowly grew more nervous as a piece, easily as wide as I was tall, detached itself and started its long journey to the floor. It was falling right on top of me! I jumped backwards just in time as it crashed down a few feet away from me, the blast threw me back, tripping me over another chunk of ice that lay behind me, sending a fine icy dust all over the place

I must have hit my head as my vision was going blurry, the last thing I saw was another piece, now the size of a house that came, speeding in complete silence down towards me. My vision blacked out completely as I heard a screech and felt myself getting lifted off the ground no more than half a second before in a thunderous crash the block of ice slammed down.

* * *

 

I almost jumped out of his talons when I woke up, flying miles up over the icy Freljord. Picking up my movements he looked down at me, pausing the slow beating of his wings, he cocked his head to the side, squawked, and heaved himself back onto the current of air. Valor held me by my shoulders, allowing me to see where he was bringing me. Everything around was either a snowy white or the same blue as the tunnel was, and it was cold. The wind blasted in my face, my thin clothes rendered useless by the chilly air which had me shivering almost immediately when I opened my eyes. There were no clouds to be seen, the sky was completely clear with the sun hanging low over the horizon to the south, slightly to the right of where we were flying, again casting long, stretched shadows on the ground. We were heading in a south-easterly direction, but since I had no idea where we were coming from, I couldn't be sure of where we were headed. I looked at the ground for clues, a valley, a ridge, some landmark that looked at least vaguely familiar, something that I had seen in my adventures into the Frozen Kingdom with my dad. I didn't see anything other than what seemed like an endless series of repeating ridges, valleys and glaciers that spanned the horizons. I was lost.  _Might as well sleep…_  I thought. It didn't take me long before I did so.


	3. A Warmer Trial

"Wake up sleepy."  
"Gilion?"  
"Open your eyes boy."

It was Kayle, Akali and Shen who I found leaning over me when I woke up, their blurry figures slowly moulding into their more familiar crisp shapes. I felt stiff, especially in my back, but also my mind. I stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, trying to shake off the drowsiness. Shen waved his hand in front of my face, getting my attention; he must have asked me something.

"How do you feel," he asked in his distinctively deep voice, his patience somewhat taking me by surprise.

"I guess,” I paused awkwardly, switching my tone to inferior-superior. "Just a drowsiness, I shall tell you should it not pass." I replied slowly.

"Ah yes, I'll send for one of the nurses to bring you something," he said, then turning to the two women who now stood against the wall, observing in silence. I didn’t bother following their exchange, instead taking the time to gauge my surroundings. The blank walls, medical equipment, softly humming ventilation; it was the infirmary.

"You were out for a while, a good eight hours." Shen continued, turning back to me. "You passed out before you were able to stab yourself." I flinched internally at how casually he said it, but otherwise my thought was on where my aches came from, which generally seemed to agree that I had fallen down before the blade had been able to pierce my skin. He stood next to the bed for a while, observing me and taking notes, then turning to Kayle and muttering something inaudible. She nodded and left the room, turning to wink at me before closing the door quietly. Even though it didn't make much noise, the closing of the door seemed so terminal, it made me shiver. Shen made his way back to me.

"Would you like to sit up?" he asked, me nodding weakly in reply. I took a deep breath before lifting my back off the mattress, I probably could have done it without Shen helping me, but it was reassuring, so I cared not. My stomach grumbled as I turned, lowering my legs off the bed, ready to stand up on the floor.

"Not so fast son." Shen said, stopping me once I was sitting down with my legs dangling off the mattress. _WHAT!_  I almost cried out, I had been startled out of my wits by a gaping void where the floor should have been,  _not another dream..._  I felt myself growing tense, my heart slowly filling my throat. As I started gasping for air, I blinked, finding my eyes had lied to me, this time revealing the clean, tiled floor. My breathing slowed back to normal again. I blinked a few more times to make sure I was seeing everything normally.

"Heart rate is still pretty low," Shen mumbled, then turning to me," You'll feel better as it starts returning to normal."  _Sounds plausible._ I thought, it seemed odd though, I wasn’t one to be susceptible to bad circulation and I had climbed many high mountains with my father; he always said I did remarkably well in the thinner air, better than some of the most conditioned climbers he knew. So it was a bit of a surprise to me when I found myself unable to cope with a slightly lower heart rate. A dull pain was starting to spread from the centre of my head so I began to lie back down.

"Headache." I mumbled, promptly removing the look of concern that had made its way onto Shen's face. It was nice to know someone cared about me, it made me glad I didn't kill myself. But, I was still annoyed, I still missed my parents, nothing could possibly replace them and nothing could fill the hole that their deaths had left in me. But, in a sense there were people who had replaced them, Akali for one, she seemed to care for me. I looked over at her; she was still standing by the wall, a solemn look on her face. She looked tired and quite stressed. It made me feel sorry for her, sorry for what I had tried to do. She glanced up at me, and smiled as best she could, in the moment the expression, as feeble as it was, meant a lot more than it would have at any other time, yet all I could muster in return was glum gaze. _Maybe it was not really worth it, I guess I had people who cared for me, people who could help me through my miseries._ My eyes started to water, in silent apology to the young Ionian. _People who could teach me, guide me, but I would be a burden to them._ The more I thought about it, the less it felt like I could make my mind up. She always said I meant a lot to her, but I still felt so worthless at times. I lay there disputing with myself as Shen fiddled with some of the medical equipment; I didn't bother to listen to his mumbling.

After a few minutes a nurse came in with a tray, on it a bowl of thick, steaming broth and a glass of water next to it.

"Thanks," I said, earning a smile from her as she placed it on the table next to the bed. The rich smell of the soup had already reached me, chicken; my mother always made a wonderful chicken soup, especially for when we came back to the institute from a cold winter ride, often sick and tired. She wasn’t as prone to wandering off on adventures as my father or I were, she liked to make home feel like home. Also, since she was much invested in her skills as a blacksmith she didn’t get as many chances to go out to far flung places. 

After another short wait I sat back up on the edge of the bed, and started in on the soup. The warm liquid relieved me as it ran down my throat, it ordered my thoughts. The many flavours flooded my senses, calmed my mind, and filled my body with warmth. In it were small pieces of chicken, little treasure chests of taste, tender, soothing to the jaw. My senses were so overwhelmed that I barely realized I had finished the whole bowl, and despite not having any more soup to indulge myself with, I was fully satisfied. I sat for a while, still on the bed, staring somewhat blankly at Akali, who had turned to staring back at me ever since I had finished eating.

Her eyes were full of colour, a very rich turquoise, quite dark, but no less brilliant than the sky when it faced the setting sun. Her stare was soft, warming, but still that same air of exhaustion lingered, bringing pity to my mind, making me feel sorry for what I had tried to do to myself. She was the first to break the gaze, sighing deeply and lowering her head. I lifted each of my legs straight, stretching them one at a time, the action reassuring me that I had not lost them for some odd reason and that it was now safe to stand up. When I did so, Shen looked over at me in surprise, but then went back to messing around with one of the heart-rate monitors that had probably been hooked up to me earlier on.

I stood relatively still for a moment, then leaned my head to each side, stretching out a stubborn ache in my neck. Kayle came back into the room, a bit startled by the fact that I was already pacing around the room.

"Come with me Gilion," she said, her tone lacking its usual haughtiness, yet still holding an air of presence and power. I glanced at Shen, who nodded in approval as I followed the angel out the door, letting it close softly behind me. I heard Akali begin to talk to Shen in a rather nervous, almost alarming tone, but I left them behind for it was enough having to worry about myself at this point.

I breathed in deeply again once we were under the sky, the warm air filled my lungs, having a strangely similar effect to the soup.  _Odd_ , I thought, wondering exactly what had caused me to pass out right before I could end my life. Pushing the uncomfortable thought aside I looked around at the heavens, they were clear and blue. The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow above the western horizons. My ears tuned into the few noises of the quiet evening, a squawk drawing me to a small figure, a bird that soared to the south, so high it was almost out of sight.

My observing was interrupted by Kayle, who, catching me completely off guard, picked me up off the ground, and took off. She held me tightly against her, and her wearing none of her armour meant that a lot more of us pressing against each other than I was entirely comfortable with. Annoyingly it also prevented me from seeing where we were going, so I just listened, to no avail.

When she placed me back on my feet, I found myself on top of one of the guard towers, perched high above the battlements on the north wall of the institute. The top of it was a few good paces across, easily enough to place an artillery piece or a dozen soldiers. Like the wall, the tower was constructed out of massive slabs of stone; each around the size of my torso and its surface rough and unpolished. In one corner there was a small, wooden hatch, the normal way one would take to get to the top. I looked towards the setting sun, it was still hovering a decent way over the horizon. Then I turned back to Kayle, who had sat down on the ledge inside the parapet and was signalling for me to do so as well.

"Well, well," she said in her usual voice, rather intimidating, it reflected her tall, strong, rather bulky figure, similar to the soldiers I had seen marching through the southern states many years back. Her loose clothes revealed her muscular composition. She eyed me over as I did to her, probably mocking my weak body, completely unfit to be a soldier, accompanied by its awkward, teenage proportions. "What a life, and what a shame it would be to lose it, to throw it away." She said slowly, sighing at the end of the sentence. I was at a loss, I didn't know what to think about it. I grunted out of simple lack of a better reply.

"You are too young to leave this world," she continued, "There is still much to see, much to learn, much to experience."

I remembered travelling with my father in the Freljord. We spent months on end in the snow, in cold parts of the world where no one else had ever been. He was to map them for the Institute, and find anything that was potentially important, a job he was particularly proud of having. I had learned so much from him, first about how to survive the cold, how to stay warm, how to find food, how to make shelter. He also taught me how to read the weather and how to get over the obstacle-filled land. He always said there is nothing I could not do, that all it took to succeed was dedication. But ever since he died his gory death to a pack of bears, which I had found myself running away from, I had lost the confidence to go out and explore a bit for myself. I was scared of the images of his torn up body coming back to me, I pushed the thought aside to stop exactly that.

"Think of all the people that would miss you," she said, now in a noticeably more gentle tone, I was looking away, part of my mind staring blankly at the sky, the other part wondering what it was like to fly. I heard her shift slightly, I put my thought to the question, _who would miss me?_

_Akali? I'd have thought I was more of a burden to her than a half decent brother._

Well, maybe she enjoyed my presence, I didn't mind hers, it was nice to have someone to talk to. And what would it mean to her if I killed myself, maybe she'd be disappointed in herself at not being able to stop it, in failing to bring me up. What would she do? I didn't want to make her suffer, I had seen enough of it when her mother died, it'd leave me guilty, guilty of abandoning her. Tears were starting to well in my eyes.

"I don't really know what to do," the words taking longer than I expected to make it out of me, I lay my head sideways on the parapet, cushioned by my rather bony hand. Kayle shifted again, judging by what my ears told me she was almost next to me, the warmth of her body confirming this. I flipped my head over to see what she was up to, finding a rather large ball of feathers: Valor, perched on her shoulder. He slowly picked up one foot, putting it back down as he picked up the other, as if his legs ached from standing, making a clicking sound with his beak as he settled on his talons. Kayle appeared to be listening. I stared for a while at the magnificent blue bird, his plumage being ruffled slightly in the wind. Kayle lifted an arm to her shoulder, allowing the eagle to move to her hand, she then placed him on my arm, just above the wrist. He clicked again.

"He says you are one of the calmest boys he has met." Kayle translated with a smile on her face. Well come on, it was Valor, what would he do to me? Peck my eyes out? I had nothing to be nervous of, with maybe the exception of the Judicator that sat across from me. "Did you know he actually followed your father around for many years?" I shook my head as best I could, which was more of a challenge than it normally was as I still leaned on top of the wall. "Well, he usually flew way over your father, alerting him for dangers and anything he saw. But the last day you two left he decided he wouldn't fly for his wing was hurt, so he couldn't warn your father about the bears. He says he could have flown, but he didn't want to risk breaking his wing, now he regrets the decision." The eagle scratched the back of his head with a talon. It made sense, I had often heard a screech or a squawk while we were out in the Freljord, but I had assumed it was just one of the many other eagles that flew around the area.

"You know, I had a dream while I was asleep." I told Kayle, who nodded for me to continue. I told her about how Valor had saved me from the cave. The bird on my arm shuffled impatiently until I finished talking.

"It's odd, isn't it," she said, "how your dreams will pick up stuff like that, and put it together. Someone once told me it's supposed to help you remember things for longer." Valor squawked, causing Kayle to giggle in return.

"He said he'd be blasted if he could ever pick you up." It put a smile on my face. He spread his wings and in one big flap, soared up, over the angel and flew off to the north, leaving me feeling a little empty and taking away the smile. "Wish you could fly, eh." I nodded meekly. "Not much I can do to help that."

"I guess," I grumbled.

"Maybe you should find yourself something to do, I think you'd have a lot more fun if you were actually doing something other than sitting around in the house the whole day." The statement didn't really explain the whole story, I did sit around at home most of the time, but I studied the maps of the battlefields, the strategies that the Ionian commanders used. It was amazing how much could be found in the library, practically every battle had some form of documentation about what was planned, what was done, and the results. There were also some of Noxian and Demacian origins, these were usually less complete, I presumed they were acquired from captured messengers. It filled some of my time, but other than that I was pretty bored. Maybe she was right, but what could I do? "I think I can make some arrangements so you can start summoning, I'm sure the higher-ups will make an exception." That was a bit more exciting, I had never summoned a champion, as usually one had to be 16 years old to do it, so I was too young. It definitely sounded fun, to lead a champion into battle for a competition, or just a friendly scrim against the other summoners, maybe I could use some of the knowledge I had gained from the battle plans to outwit my opponents. But, I was a bit worried, would I be any good at it, or would it just be another way for me to embarrass myself,  _I guess it wouldn't hurt too much to give it a try_.


	4. There...

It was late autumn a full year later and a great storm had ravaged the western side of the island and the institute was preparing to mount rescue operations and provide relief to the affected areas. It was often in the chaos after these storms that mercenaries and raiders would launch incursions on vulnerable trading towns. Although the Ionians always mounted a strong defence my father always said it was nonetheless difficult to maintain, a many of the roads would become blocked by trees, blown down by the gales or washed away by landslides, caused by the torrential rains. When I was younger he would often leave with my mother for weeks. After a few weeks they would come back and we would gather in his study looking over maps as they told me of their patrols and skirmishes.

"Have you packed everything?" Akali called from downstairs.

"Yes." I replied, the bag was mostly empty, not that I minded; travelling light was something I had grown used to. Also, we were supposed to be one of the first groups to arrive at the coastal villages, only scouts and elite soldiers coming before us, as a result we were outfitted with only what we needed to survive, some first aid tools, and a small dagger each. I hoisted the pack on my shoulders, picked up my dark grey cloak and went downstairs, putting the bag down on the table across from where Akali was preparing hers. She was in one of the scouting parties, tasked on the same region as I was, but she would be going ahead of our group.

"Irelia will take care of you," she said to me, reading my disappointment, something I had become rather accustomed to over the years, "she probably has more to teach you than I do."

She was right; I'd probably just be a burden on the rest of the scouts if I went with them, completely unable to help, but it would have been nice to go with some people I knew… I had never met Irelia before, her notoriety set her far away from me despite the few years that separated us. I had seen her once or twice around the institute, but rarely summoned her. I had been told that there were better choices, champions that weren't so...demanding.

The courtyard outside the headquarters was used as the assembly area. Even before coming through the archway that was the main entrance I could hear the commotion that went on inside the Inner Wall. At the gate I passed several armed soldiers that had been already finished their briefing bearing thin armour with light bows and swords. Just inside there were still several buildings on the sides of the street before the courtyard, several had supplies stacked next to them, mostly food, which the storm had likely made inedible in the affected areas.

The plaza itself was quite expansive, its length just enough to not be able to clearly recognize someone on the other end. It was quite full of people, I noted several more parties of soldiers heading out from the barracks at the other end. However, the majority of people there were being briefed for their rescue parties, all in all a few thousand. Most people were being somewhat loud, enough to make normal conversation rather hard, but not enough to necessitate shouting. I headed to the front of the institute headquarters, where I found most of my group ready. Irelia stood tall in front of the rest of the men, her assistant, a rather scruffy looking Freljordian looking over a list next to her. I walked over to him to tell him I was ready.

"Gilion, there we go," he grumbled, scribbling something on his notepad. "Nice to meet you young lad." He continued, shaking my hand. I went to the back of the group and waited, looking around at the people around me who were busy making preparations or being instructed on their tasks. Soon enough my eyes found their way back to Irelia. She was talking to one of the generals, her Mantle floating, shivering almost impatiently above her head. She wore her usual armour, a light suite couloured in red and white, but like most of the other adults around, she didn't have her blades with her; it was rare that high ranking officials carried their weapons inside the town. She had straight, dark hair which contrasted rather sharply on her light skin. Her body was slender, not nearly as muscular as most of the other soldiers yet she had an air of power and awe around her, this in particular intriguing me.

"Alright chaps," the assistant called out after the last boy had arrived, "let's head out." We followed him out of the courtyard, Irelia disappearing in the opposite direction.

* * *

 

"Name's John Price." he bellowed, responding to one of the younger boys’ question as we made our way down the road. "I'd prefer if ya called me Price or Lieutenant Price, or just Lieutenant, whichever ya prefer." He had a thick accent, probably somewhere in between a Bilgewater, and a South-Freljordian one.

We stopped at an inn a few miles out of town, where we were supposed to wait for Irelia. She showed up only a few minutes after us, now her four blades hovering at her side. Their size was quite astounding considering how effortlessly she lifted them. And I was much impressed at how smoothly they glided in their tight formation, as if one with her mind.

"Stay sharp," she told us as we set off again.

We walked at a decent pace, rarely being passed by others, those who did were almost only on horseback.

While the rest of the group spent their time talking about typical things a teenage boy would talk about, weapons, sword fighting, girls... They seemed pretty happy to travel, and even at the end of the day I had not noticed anyone complaining about how far we had walked. Being more quiet, I stayed out of these conversations, thinking about whatever came to my mind, which most of the time was speculating about the damage the storm had done. Hence, I walked at the back of the group, out of everyone else's way, and in a position I'd avoid drawing attention to myself.

That night we spent in a blockhouse along the road, these buildings were usually meant to house troops patrolling the area, but this was not necessary any more as the threat of the Noxian invasion had receded. The house was not particularly comfortable or welcoming, but it served its purpose.

* * *

 

As we made our way along the road the next day, evidence of the storm started appearing, first branches of trees and then whole trees, mostly green leaved lying uprooted beside the road. The trees had been cleared from the road the other day, many lying cut in half at the point where they crossed its path. However for now only the weaker trees and those that were in exposed areas had fallen, the vast majority were still left standing.

The next blockhouse we passed stood in the middle of a clearing, the tall mountains, hidden behind the trees earlier, but now rose proudly above them, their peaks capped in pure white snow. Surrounding the house were several thick oaks, some of their branches having been torn off, damaging windows and parts of the roof where several men clambered on ladders to make repairs. We waited outside while Irelia went in to report to the officer, all the parties had to do this as a safety precaution in the case something bad happened to a group.

We spent that night at the next blockhouse, this one stood in the shelter of the valley, near the base, just next to where a massive chunk of solid rock jutted out from the mountainside. Several trees lay in the river below, still green leaves on them.

The third day we started off again, passing out of the mountains into a landscape of rolling hills, almost entirely blanketed by a yellowing forest. At the far edge of the trees, there was a peninsula that led north-westwards, to the Freljord, and a bay with the coast continuing southward until it was obscured by the slowly rising terrain. Our vision was only limited by the horizon and a few patches of fog that lay over the forest, all the landscape lying crystal clear in front of us, the ocean glittering slightly in the morning sun. A warm breeze blew in from the south-west, carrying a few scattered clouds off to our right, just strong enough to make the dryer leaves in the trees crackle. As we continued along the road, which pounced and slithered over and around the fells, the land and air became more moist, it must have rained again in these parts since the storm.

Late that afternoon an orange glow appeared just above the colouring trees to the west, almost straight in the direction we were heading. It was no more brilliant than a bright star or planet and it appeared not far from where the sun was about to set making it almost impossible to discern. It was betrayed by its movement, appearing to rise slowly, becoming slightly more intense before going out abruptly. I looked at the rest of the group; no one seemed to have noticed other than Irelia, who, to the surprise of the rest, brought us to a halt.

"Down and quiet," she commanded in a low tone, raising her right fist. She was listening for the source of the light. I remembered my dad doing the same when we saw a blue light which behaved in a surprisingly similar fashion one night in the Freljord. He told me many flares make a distinct sound when they were fired making it the best way to confirm the source to be a flare while also functioning as a secondary means of attracting attention. Expecting the same I turned my head slightly to the left of where the light had been and slowed my breath. A few seconds later, through a slight rustle in the trees, the sound came, a slight hiss as the flare burned. Irelia's blades quivered ever so slightly. Then, the faintest of pops as the flare went out. As my attention shifted away from the sound I realized I was staring at Irelia, who now was staring back at me, I lowered my head and looked away, ashamed of myself.

As I glanced back at her, having dismissed the rest of the group she beckoned me over, I obeyed. Standing in front of her, she peered deep into my eyes. I looked back, hers light brown, intense beams of vision, holding enough power to strike fear into even the most seasoned of warriors. She was thinking; I broke the stare.

"Sharp eyes," she whispered, her tone lacking its usual authority. "Good ears too." I looked back up at her, cocking my head to the side. I wasn’t really sure what to make of her words. "I need more of those," she finished, signalling the rest of the group to come back off the clearing they had gone to entertain themselves on. Price huffed up beside her after counting the rest of the group, and after a short exchange we were walking again, Irelia at her usual spot in the front, me now flanking her, and the Lieutenant bringing up the rear.

Before long, I started thinking about the flare again. I knew around where on the road we were, from that it seemed the source was the next town down the road, at the corner of the bay and the peninsula. Judging by the delay of the sound it was around 3 miles away. The village was called Palaroth, it was one of the more notable trading ports of the region, likely to have a generous quantity of valuables. And after a heavy storm a prime target for rebels who usually dared not venture into further Ionia.

"Rebels?" I asked the warrior.

"My guess too."

We walked another mile along the road before stopping again, the Lieutenant taking my pack and the rest of the group further along the road. I kept only my cloak and the short black dagger in its sheath. As soon as they left Irelia signaled to me.

Staying close behind her, we cut slightly southward across several grassy fields, the moist ground soft beneath my boots. Around the rows of trees that marked their edges we weaved around fallen branches. It was getting dark, the sun just disappearing over to the south-west, leaving an orange tinge covering the better half of the sky. The air was cooling quickly, occasional drafts of chill crossing our track.

Passing a dark, seemingly unoccupied farmhouse we passed over a trail and into a forest, this one of fir trees, dark and damp. Irelia seemed pretty familiar with the area; she moved with a swift agility that I almost had trouble keeping up with. Pretty soon we got to an embankment which we climbed, stopping just below the top where we peeking out over the road. This one leading from Palaroth on our right, down towards the south. It was deserted, littered with the limbs of trees, a small guardhouse, also empty stood a few hundred paces up the road. I was starting to get nervous from the waiting, even if it was hardly lasting a few tens of seconds.

"What's the plan?" I whispered.

"I'm guessing they landed on one of the beaches to the south," she replied, slowly at first. "We'll have a chance at cutting them off to the west of the road, or at least pick up on their trail. There are only two paths that lead to that part of the beach from town." I followed her across the road and into the woods on the other side, this one a mix of deciduous and pine, the air beneath them cool in the shade of the evening and still very moist. I found Irelia’s steps ever so delicately placed and so I quieted mine, trying my best to match hers. I was out of practice; here and there treading on a stray twig, or making my footfall just a tad too heavy.

A few hundred paces further we found a path, a mess of tracks in the otherwise clean mud that had been left behind the storm. Upon closer inspection i found they all pointed to the right, towards the town. I felt Irelia tense, her blades twitching lightly.

"Find a place to hide," she whispered in my ear, "I'll go to the other path, whistle is the signal; come quickly and quietly." Finishing the sentence she disappeared hurriedly into the trees across the track, completely quiet.

I gulped; then blinked.

Looking around I found a well leaved Alder, its brown flowers lying scattered on the forest floor around it. I pulled myself up its thick trunk to where it branched in two at the height of my head. The wood smelled fresh, clean, moist, and cool to the touch. Near the bottom it was clad in some slippery moss, but as I made my way up the sturdy branches the unsoiled bark was surprisingly easy to grip. I decided to take my position half way up the tree, i could see roughly where the path was through the foliage, the other trees being largely leafless helped. It was surprisingly humid; I made out the outlines of some clouds moving in from the south.  _Rain?_ It wouldn’t be surprising, as this was the wettest part of Ionia.

I made myself comfortable by standing with one leg where a branch parted from the trunk which I leaned against. Then I took a deep breath before shallowing it to inaudibility and waiting.

I heard the waves, faint and distant, the occasional rustle of the trees in the breeze. Then, from the north, a muted chatter followed by heavy footsteps, boots, on the ground. The noise was veering slowly to the left, coming only slightly closer; they were on the other path. Without even thinking I started lowering myself from my perch, quietly and carefully placing my feet on the branches below me. I admired how quickly and accurately I moved.  _I've still got the hang of this eh?_

I reached the bottom of the tree, where I descended onto one of the roots which stuck out sideways from the base of the tree, partly above the ground. Catching my breath I listened;  there was still a chatter but now it was almost directly perpendicular to the path. Swiftly I started across the forest floor towards the source of the sound, as quietly and almost as quickly as Irelia had done mere minutes earlier.

With only a few paces taken towards my goal I heard her whistle, a quick high pitched tone, maybe a few hundred feet, almost straight ahead of me. I pressed on, still silent as death.

The fight broke out only just afterwards; a grunt before several screams from the rebels, swords clashing, metal on metal. A cry as one charged before being smote down in his tracks. It kept going.  _How many were there?_ It must have been dozens but it was very hard to tell.

Through the distant racket I kept looking around, paying attention as to let nothing catch me by surprise. Sweeping my vision over to the right, I saw a short figure, a mere 40 yards or so away. He held a heavy sack over his shoulder, his back bent forward under the weight. His pace was slow and he was looking over towards where the fight had broken out. Without hesitating I pressed on and stopped where he would cross my path. After peeking around a wide oak, I resolved to try to ambush him.

Positioning myself on the roots, with my back against the rough but moist bark, I halted, ready for my next move. Again, slowing my breath, I entered my state of absolute alertness. I heard him muttering a strange tongue; the paces he took were heavy but still relatively quiet, especially compared to the big rabble the rest of the rebels had made. I was in luck; the steps came closer, towards the tree. He rustled the leaves as he walked. I silently readied my short, black dagger in my right hand, the same assassins blade I carried ever since a friend of my father gave it to me, I was only six at the time, and didn't have much use for it. But, today I would be drawing my first blood with it. I shivered at the thought.

I felt the tree shudder ever so slightly as the rebel stepped on a root to my right. Just a moment later I swung my arm out to the side, the blade slicing the air ahead of my hand.

The blade sunk like knife through butter into his flesh. He screamed, slowly turning into a gurgle as the body fell to the ground, I let go of the dagger, its hilt hitting the ground first with a distinctive knock of wood on wood. I breathed in deeply and froze.  _What had I just done?_ Then the deathly silence around me was broken by the softest of footsteps, again coming from behind the tree. Ten paces or so to the source, but they closed in quickly, then, like me, froze in their path.

I blinked, still completely silent.

"Who’s there?”A voiced whispered, my mind raced through my memories of people I had heard, as it if it had forgotten everything.

"A-Akali?" I managed to stammer, the words somehow finding their way out of me, I had never intended to say a thing.

In the blink of an eye I was pinned up against the tree, the tip of a kama ever so slightly pricking my neck. I closed my eyes.

Then, as quickly as I was trapped, she released me. Limp in terror, I let my body drop on the roots below me.

Pulling myself back into a sitting position, I opened my eyes to find Akali, her face mask now hanging around her neck, tired and worn with splats of blood on her. Her turquoise eyes bore down into me, we both sat there, speechless, breathing heavily.

"Are you ok?" She said, finally breaking the silence.

"I guess," I mumbled.

"I'm sorry for startling you, i scared myself even more." She sighed, tears welling in her eyes. "Thank god you're fine." I buried my head in her chest, the slender assassin holding me tightly. She was warm, clearly fresh from a recent fight, the smell of battle still clear around her. And again, I heard footsteps.

"Shhh." Akali froze, picking up the sound too. The steps were quiet, accurately placed, but just loud enough to hear.

"Stay here," the assassin muttered, jumping up, ready to meet the threat. She slowly looked around.

Right then, in a flash of white, red, and black Irelia jumped out from the twilight gloom. Letting forth a cry of battle, she dove atop the smaller assassin, the two rolling over each other twice before coming to a halt a good distance away from me, the much larger warrior ending up on top of Akali.

"Caught off guard?" She muttered, chuckling to herself. "Zed wouldn't be too impressed." I was still sitting on the roots of the tree, I cocked my head to one side, looking at the two stare each other down, they were both covered in the results of the previous clashes. I let out a light laugh, Irelia heard it.

"I had been waiting for you," she said to the assassing, giggling, seeming to have lost all of her age. "Wait a second." She continued, getting up, then helping the younger girl to her feet. "Whose is this?" Irelia asked, referring to the body that lay a few meters away from my side. She brushed the dry leaves off her suit.

"Would have been mine," Akali muttered, her tone filled with frustration.

"So he makes a better assassin than you."

"I beat her to it." I stated, simply; trying my best to pass off the glowing pride in me. Irelia smiled.

"Well, glad you two are ok," she sighed. "This was the last band right?" She asked Akali, receiving a nod as a confirmation. The warrior was inspecting the body, she turned it over.

"Pretty clean hit," she complimented, pulling the blade, covered in blood, out of the body. It had gone in just off center, under the shoulder. I stood across from her, looking down at my kill. "Not bad for your first blood." She said, tossing the little dagger, catching it by the tip. I took it by the hilt which pointed at me and sheathed it. Irelia picked up the pack, hoisted it over her shoulders and nodded for us to follow her.

The smell of blood grew stronger as we walked, coming around a bush we opened out into a clearing.

Akali gasped.

"You should be dead." she stammered. I blinked and recounted the bodies, eight they were, all lying motionless with a weapon next to them. There were a few sacks that lay along the path which ran through the middle of the clearing.

"Just doing my job," Irelia replied, indifferent. She pointed me to a smallish bag that lay at the northern end of the clearing and then directed Akali, who had gone over to inspect the bodies, to another pack. I hopped over a two-bladed battle-axe and picked up the bag, it was pretty heavy for its size and I wanted to see what was inside, but it was tied shut. There was a clinking of metal when I moved it.  _Maybe tools?_  I thought to myself.

"This way," The warrior said, Akali and I following her up the path back to Palaroth. The two women soon found themselves in a conversation about each of their ordeals of the last few days, I tuned in when they reached the rebels.

"Seventeen they were, all armed." Akali explained, "we arrived five hours past noon, the blockhouse at Rumoi advised us against taking the shortcut across the mountains as we intended to be going further southward today. They said there were sightings of rebel ships from the Peninsula. We arrived in Palaroth to find two guards dead infront of the warehouse, the third was nowhere to be found. The few people who had stayed in the village dared not show themselves. We were basically alone, the five of us. Assuming it was a smallish group we went inside, it was quiet and it made me nervous. As we lead towards the rear end of the building it just was too quiet. Just as we resolved to turn around and re-plan they jumped us. We managed to take down eight of them, but Talara fell and the two brothers were injured. I had Elan go report to the blockhouse while I tracked behind the others to see if I could do something. You know it from there."

Irelia was clearly frustrated. "I can't count how many times I told them to increase the patrols in the autumn, every time I got the same answer, nothing. The commander will be in a great mood when he hears about this."

Avoiding the center of town, we cut across a field towards the blockhouse, its lights bright in the twilight gloom.

"Put the bags in the store house for now." she instructed as she went inside. After we had done so, Akali and I went inside to find Irelia in a heated discussion with several of the staff, Price among them.

"Go clean yourself," Akali told me, taking a seat next to Irelia.

Irelia turned around, "Your pack is upstairs next to the bathroom." I nodded and ran off.

The shower was hot, the steam of the water rising quickly to the top of the bathroom, soon enough filling the whole room with a dense fog. My long, shaggy hair draped down to my shoulders under the weight of the water, the blood on my arm turning the water a slight red. That stain was easy to wash off, however there was another one I would never be able to clean.


End file.
